4.5 out of 5 stars

This is an epic start to an incredible new fantasy trilogy, and one of the most unique fantasy worlds I have seen for a very long time. I can tell that S.M. Boyce has files and notebooks full of every detail about her world of Ourea. This book oozes with the richness of every nation, race, its history, culture, creatures and magic. As a reader, I totally trust the authenticity and continuity of the world. You can lose yourself in it easily.

We, and the main character Kara, are thrust into this alien world with an initial steep learning curve, but that’s ok, because after that, S.M. Boyce unwinds the culture and backstory with good pacing. We get a lot of it though, and at times it can read like a history text (luckily not a dull one), but she has so much for us to experience.

I don’t know where the “Lich” in Lichgates comes in (considering its classical reference to an undead magician), but it sounds intriguing and the title is very compelling. As is the cover. Others have frowned on its simple, matt brown design, but I really like it, and it’s obviously intended to resemble the actual Grimoire in the story. The 4-circle clover design is an awesome symbol too, and is referred to in the plot at every turn.

No spoilers here, but the story follows Kara and her mystical, royal friend Braeden, and I totally fell in love with these characters. They are believable, complex on numerous layers and not without humour, and a romantic longing. The author has a talent for rich, 3-dimensional, and flawed characters, each with their own agenda and powers. I enjoyed the political overtones in the plot, and they certainly enhanced the drama, and were in no way onerous.

The author has a strong command of story-telling and creative writing, knowing how to bring out the best of every description. Nothing is mundane. The locations are fabulous and so precisely described that I could have been standing there with Kara at every turn. S.M. Boyce did her utmost to avoid the classic fantasy stereotypes, instead giving us gorgeous locations that lend themselves perfectly to a movie.

My only complaint is the ratio of narrative and description to dialogue. The author writes dialogue so well that I wanted much more. In places, I found it a slower read due to the necessity of digesting the description, wonderful as it was. A faster pace would be hard to pull off with the depth of her world, I imagine, but I’m definitely not saying that it’s unbearably slow. Boring it is not!

There is no doubt I shall buy the rest of the trilogy. This is great fantasy from a new author, who obviously has an outstanding career ahead of her. (S.M. Boyce web site)